In addition to a month in jail, Knece sentenced Rust to a three-year intervention program that could lead to the expungement of his conviction if he completes the program.

An investigation by state prison officials and the State Highway Patrol found that Rust falsified payroll records on 33 occasions in 2009 in an attempt to pay $6,011 to seven prison employees for time they did not work.

Prison officials stopped about $3,500 before the payments were made and recovered about $2,500 in overpayments to employees. The workers, who said they were unaware of the discrepancies, were not disciplined.

Rust, who resigned last year from his job at the prison at Orient, originally also had been charged with theft in office.